Everest drank in the delectable sight of Cole striding toward him, smiling over the natural roll and sway of Cole’s trim hips as he moved with the grace of a man who used his body to work for a living. Every muscle Cole sported was well-defined and firm, without a spare ounce of fat on his long frame. Everest’s eyes took in the one thing Cole had overlooked when he’d hastily dressed, and his smile grew as he stared down at Cole’s bare feet.
Cole followed the path of his gaze, and he blushed a little as he came to a stop beside Everest. He lifted one shoulder and shrugged, giving Everest a slightly guilty expression which Everest found simply adorable, if one could call a seasoned cowboy such. Everest decided it fit his cowboy, so he was going with the description.
“Better now?” he asked, making a point to let Cole see his gaze sweeping up and down Cole’s body again. He wanted Cole used to his open appraisal and appreciation before the night was over. It was important that Cole knew he was wanted and that Everest was hungry for him.
Cole coughed softly into his closed fist and nodded. “Um, yeah. I decided to lose the pajamas and go for something more suited to the dinner table.” He glanced over at the grill, checking the meat before he returned his focus to Everest.
Everest smiled. “Cole, you know you don’t have to stand on ceremony around me, don’t you?”
“Of course,” Cole was quick to say, which pleased Everest to no end. “I just knew I’d be more comfortable eatin’ like this.”
Everest hummed and angled his head, narrowing his eyes as he pretended to contemplate what Cole had said. “Mmm, I don’t know. Personally, I love eating in just my briefs once I’m alone after a hard day’s work.”
Cole coughed again, but this time it was because he seemed to inhale saliva down his windpipe and was in danger of choking. Everest stepped closer and settled one hand on Cole’s chest while he patted him between his shoulder blades with his other. Cole turned beet red as he coughed and struggled briefly to regain his composure.
“Easy there,” Everest crooned close to Cole’s ear. “Wasn’t trying to strangle ya.” He chuckled and grinned when Cole turned his head to face him. They were close enough that Everest could feel the soft puffs of Cole’s breath ghosting over his chin and cheek.
“No,” Cole said in a rough voice, “I know. You just took me by surprise, was all.”
“What?” Everest gave him a look of mock disbelief as he continued to caress Cole with his hands. “You don’t strip down in the privacy of your own home when you’re alone? I thought every man liked to get out of those confining torture devices we have to wear in the saddle called jeans.”
Cole’s eyes searched his, looking for what, Everest didn’t know. But soon Cole’s expression softened and he started to chuckle, too. Everest arched an eyebrow to keep him going, and he was well rewarded when Cole’s entire body seemed to relax against his palms. There we go, thought Everest. Cole laughed a little louder, and Everest began to chuckle with him.
“I see you like my idea.”
“It’s… quite the visual,” Cole murmured, blushing again but managing to look Everest in the eye that time.
“It is at that.” Everest nodded in agreement, and then he gently rubbed his hand over Cole’s chest through the soft t-shirt he wore, letting Cole get used to his touch now, too.
Cole’s eyes flickered down to Everest’s hand, and he stared intently at the contact for several seconds. Everest remained quiet and continued his light exploration of the shallow indentation between Cole’s defined pecs, loving the strength he could feel even there. Slowly, Cole’s gaze lifted to Everest’s lips and then up to meet his gray eyes. Everest smiled, waiting to see what Cole would do or say next.
“I… I think it’s time to take the steaks off the fire now.” Cole inhaled deeply but didn’t move from his place next to Everest. Instead, he continued to search Everest’s eyes and breathe in time with him, subconsciously following Everest’s lead.
Everest understood Cole was using the need to check the grill as a way out for them both if it was what Everest wanted. It was obvious Cole was trying desperately not to offend Everest or show any sign that he was aroused by what was beginning to take place between them. Everest, however, had other plans.
He lifted his hand from Cole’s chest and cupped the side of Cole’s stubbled cheek. Cole’s green eyes grew large as Everest leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on Cole’s temple. Cole’s sharp intake of breath wasn’t missed by Everest, nor was the slight tremble that stole through Cole’s body. Everest didn’t linger, but he patted Cole again before he drew away and lightly gripped Cole’s upper arm to get him moving toward the grill.
“Come on, Cole. Let’s take these inside and have supper. There’s a lot I want to talk about with you tonight, but I know we both need to eat after the work we’ve put in today.”
“Um, yeah,” Cole whispered, following Everest as though he were in a fog.
Everest knew his actions had to be confounding Cole, but soon, everything would be made clear. Very clear. Then, hopefully, he would be able to hold Cole in the way he wanted and help ease away the last of the tension running rampant through Cole’s mind and body.
Everest helped Cole plate their dinner, staying right beside him through each and every task, making sure to touch his arm or back whenever they brushed against each other. Just little reminders that he was there with Cole to ensure Cole stayed present in each and every moment. When Everest took the chair directly to Cole’s right at the table, instead of the one across from him, Cole looked well and truly lost. Everest gave him an encouraging smile again and extended his hand, palm up, waiting for Cole to take it of his own accord.
“Will you say grace with me?” Everest asked, his voice coming out a little deeper than usual.
Again, Cole searched his eyes for several seconds before he exhaled and slid his hand into Everest’s. Everest slowly closed his fingers around Cole’s and then he bowed his head. He offered up a simple blessing for their meal and the fellowship they were enjoying while it was just the two of them. When he ended his brief remarks, Everest gave Cole’s hand a squeeze before he released him.
“This smells divine, Cole. Thank you for letting me stay tonight and join you.” He intended to stay for more than the meal, wanting to hold Cole as only a lover could, but Everest wasn’t ready to say that out loud just yet.
“You’re always welcome here, Everest. You know that.” Cole pressed his lips together and then turned all his focus to his napkin as he spread it out across his lap.
Everest had always loved the fact that Cole displayed ingrained manners without any embarrassment or apology. Where some men made a point to ignore basic etiquette, thinking it made them appear more masculine, Cole chose to remain true to himself. It was just another thing about the man which Everest respected.
He mirrored the action and then dug into his steak, humming at the burst of flavors that spread across his palate.
Cole’s cheeks pinked a bit, but he found a small grin for Everest. “I think we left them on the fire too long.”
“No, they’re perfect.” Everest shook his head and scooped up a bite of potato, moaning over that bit of heaven, too. “You know I’m not that picky when it comes to how my steak is cooked. Hell, I can’t be, because Lum burns every damn piece of meat he touches when we’re out on a cattle drive,” he quipped, referencing his foreman.
Cole snorted out a laugh and nodded. “Then why do you let him cook?”
Everest shrugged. “Damned if I know. Old bugger likes to piss us all off sometimes, I think, so we let him get it out on occasion.”
Cole shook his head. “I don’t think I’d let someone cook my food if they were riled at me. Might oughtta think that plan through before you let him near the food stores again.”
Everest paused with his fork midway to his mouth and gave Cole a slow nod. “You know, I’ve never thought of it like that before.”
“Yeah, well, now you have.”
>
They stared at one another momentarily and then began laughing softly together.
“Oh, Cole.” Everest sighed affectionately. “I do love your sense of humor and wit. You keep me on my toes, you know?”
“Do I?” Cole’s voice seemed to drop an octave.
Everest didn’t miss the hope that flared briefly in Cole’s eyes before he banked it away. It was one more reminder that Cole had taught himself to put his needs and desires on the back burner for far too long.
“Of course, you do. Always have. You make me smile, too,” Everest added. “It’s just a few of the things I like most about you.”
Everest gave Cole a warm grin and then took another bite. He watched Cole eat a little more while he chewed, giving Cole time to digest his last comment. Everest could see the thoughts literally tumbling one over the other in Cole’s expressive green eyes as they raced through his mind. Still, he waited, allowing them time to consume the meal, knowing he was ready to say more and that perhaps now, Cole was ready to hear it.
Chapter 5
Cole concentrated on eating for several minutes, trying to find the courage to ask Everest what was going on between them. Oh, Cole was pretty sure he knew, because the signals Everest was giving off were truly unmistakable, even though he was obviously revealing them with great care and a gentle hand. Still, Cole wondered how he could have missed the fact that Everest was interested in men and in him specifically through all their years of friendship. Was he that blind? And why, Cole asked himself, was Everest revealing that truth now?
He wondered if Mike had said something to Everest which had prompted him to come to Cole’s house rather than remain at the card table with their neighbors. Surely not, because Mike was as trustworthy a soul as Cole’s father had been. It couldn’t have been a coincidence, though, that Everest had come to Cole’s home with such clear intentions on the very same day that Robbie had dumped him.
The only way to know is to ask, he told himself, though Cole prayed with everything he was and had that his words wouldn’t send Everest far from his side and irreparably damage their friendship. Please give me the words, so I don’t fuck this up and send him packin’, he thought, hoping the man upstairs was listening.
Slowly, Cole lowered his knife and fork, and then he used his napkin to wipe his mouth before placing it on the table to the left side of his plate. He stole another few seconds to steady his breathing before he turned to look at Everest. He found that Everest had stopped eating too, and he was casting that same warm smile Cole’s way which he’d seen on the other man’s face throughout the evening.
“Go ahead, Cole,” Everest encouraged in his deep voice. “Ask me.”
Now Cole did think Everest had some way to read his thoughts. That idea made him smile, though, much to his relief, and it removed some of the tension from his shoulders.
Everest extended his hand again atop the table as he had when he said a blessing and opened his palm to Cole. He waited but said nothing else, and Cole saw the offer for what it truly was. Everest was giving Cole his support as he always had, only this time the topic they were about to discuss had nothing whatsoever to do with business and everything to do with them.
And, he was letting Cole set the pace. Which, from what Cole had gathered thus far and what Everest had shown him through his touch and his words, was remarkable, for it seemed that Everest was showing a great deal of restraint by not just barreling into such a significant change in their platonic relationship. That care and consideration spoke volumes to Cole’s starving heart, and it gave him the final push he needed to talk with Everest.
Cole cleared his throat and took the plunge, trying to think of the best place to start.
“You said you wanted to talk tonight.” He paused and watched Everest incline his head. “And… you seem to know that this hasn’t been a particularly stellar day for me.” Again, Everest nodded. His calloused thumb began to sweep across Cole’s knuckles, but he remained silent. “Just a few minutes ago, you said that there were things that you… liked about me.”
“Yes I did,” Everest murmured. The little laugh lines around his eyes appeared as he gazed at Cole with a smile beginning to tug at the corner of his lips.
Everest looked so damned happy to Cole that it shook him to his core. Had he ever seen another man look at him like that, he questioned? The answer, sadly, was no.
Time to really put it out there, for better or worse. Only this time, Cole didn’t think there was going to be a bad side to what Everest was obviously prepared to offer him.
“And you’ve touched me tonight in a way that you never have in the past,” Cole added, finding he needed to swallow hard to keep himself steady.
Warmth flared in Everest’s gray eyes. “All true.” They sat quietly and stared intently at one another until Everest said, “Ask, Cole, and I’ll answer frankly.”
“All right,” Cole managed to say in a gruff whisper. “How long have you wanted this, Everest?”
“I’ve wanted you, Cole Gentry, for many years,” Everest said without hesitation. “Long before you were of age and I was able to do anything about it. And long before you were ready for a relationship with me.”
All of Cole’s breath seemed to leave him in a rush, and he struggled momentarily to pull more oxygen into his lungs. Everest scooted his chair even closer until they were plastered against one another, and then he cupped the side of Cole’s face in one hand and rested his other over Cole’s heart.
“Breathe with me, Cole, and listen to everything I’m sayin’, because you know me and you know I don’t lie. What I say to you is truth, and it’s been a long time comin’, honey.” Everest’s eyes held a fierce, possessive light that made the little blue flecks there stand out in sharp relief among all the gray.
Cole looked deeply into Everest’s gaze and found himself transfixed. Not just by the startling turn of events that night, but by the way in which Everest held him and looked at him as though Cole was the only other person in the world on whom he wanted to stake a claim. Like Cole was something… precious.
“Yeah,” Everest drawled and smoothed his thumb over Cole’s cheek, sending tingles down Cole’s spine. “And because I care deeply for you, I had to wait and bide my time. Wait until you were a man in your own right, and ready to meet me as an equal, so you never felt like a relationship between us was one-sided or that I was taking advantage of you.”
“You had to grow up, Cole. Get your degree and know that you could run this spread just fine on your own. And,” he said, leaning in a little closer, “I couldn’t tell you that I want you more than my next breath until you were a single man. At least that’s what I’ve told myself for years. Truthfully, the waitin’ was getting damned near intolerable from my end, and I was ready to break my own rule tonight. I had planned on asking you at the card game to come to my place tomorrow for dinner. Then, once we were alone, I was gonna tell you that I want you to be mine.”
“You were?” Cole managed to say, feeling completely and utterly dazed.
“Oh, yeah.” Everest gave him a smoldering look that spoke volumes by itself as he slid his hand into Cole’s thick chestnut locks. “Hmmm, so soft. Just like I thought it would be.” His eyes tracked the movement of his hand, and then he returned his gaze to Cole’s.
“I know all about you and Robbie,” Everest confessed gruffly, “because I’ve made it a point to learn everything there is to know about you, Cole. And I had grown tired of watchin’ the way he strung you along. So imagine my surprise and delight when I read between Mike’s lines tonight, enough to discern that you are officially a single, unclaimed, beautiful man. And one whom I plan on making mine in every way I can tie us together.”
“H-how did you know I was gay, even back when I was a teen?” He thought he’d hidden it so well.
“Because I see you, Cole, and because like knows like, honey. I’ve known who you are and who you’re attracted to for a very long time. Since you were about seventeen
and I got a chance to really interact with you during that cattle drive on my parents’ ranch where you and your dad pitched in to help,” he said, referencing the original Cooper ranch which sat to the east of Everest’s own spread.
With the help of his grandparents, Everest had purchased the ranch situated between his parents’ place and the Gentry’s ranch right after he graduated college. Everest’s two older brothers had remained behind to help run their parents’ business while Lyle had decided to move onto Everest’s ranch and help him in whatever way he could. It meant that the three ranches were tied together through friendship and camaraderie that went back years and through many shared experiences.
Cole tried to form some kind of response, but his mind and heart were reeling from all Everest had said. Everest’s expression softened as he continued to stroke Cole’s hair. Cole instinctively leaned into Everest’s warm palm, loving the way the gentle caresses felt.
“How did I not know that you’re gay too?” he finally asked.
“Because you weren’t lookin’.”
Everest sounded so sure, so confident in what he was saying that it further put Cole at ease. Everest had never led him astray before, and Cole knew he wouldn’t now either. Everest wasn’t that kind of man, and Cole took solace in the fact that he knew Everest just as Everest apparently knew him.
“That too is something else I love about you, though I hated the way I came to learn that truth.”
Cole frowned, not understanding.
“You’re built monogamous, Cole. Same as me. You don’t stray, and you don’t cheat on your man. So while you considered yourself tied to Robbie, you never looked beyond him. Never saw that I was lookin’ back at you. I love you for the strong and good man you are, Cole, and how honorable you are even when it hurt you to stay true. I despised watchin’ you go through the loneliness that came after Robbie’s departure and the way you waited for his return, even though those visits dwindled to next to nothin’ over the years.”
A Cowboy's Dance (White Oak Ranch Book 1) Page 4